Vegetables from the Garden: Update #5
A lot has happened in the two weeks since I posted my last garden update. This year the garden is doing well, even though I’ve been ignoring it recently while I’ve been off having fun. Some serious weeding is in order, so please ignore any weeds! (Links to commercial sites are merely to illustrate that type of plant and not an endorsement of the site. You can see the progress of the garden through the summer by clicking the label 2007 Garden Updates at the end of each post.)
Life is good on the day you harvest your first veggies! Today I harvested these 8-Ball Zucchinis and now I’m trying to decide what to make with them. I put an egg to show you how big they are. Actually I like to pick them when they’re the size of the smaller one, but I didn’t notice how big they were getting!
Next to my fence I have Roma Tomatoes, which are outgrowing their cages and getting a lot of tomatoes on them. I have seven Roma plants so I can make Slow-Roasted Tomatoes later this summer!
I still don’t have any Brandywine tomatoes on the plants, but my other tomato plants all have clusters of tomatoes like this. (Please don’t call the organic gardening police, but I use a type of fertilizer which promotes blooms to get this many tomatoes.)
The volunteer Brandywines by the compost pile are happy and healthy, and even starting to get a lot of blossoms on them although they’re a few weeks behind the ones I actually planted! I can’t bring myself to pull these volunteers up, and I have about ten of them, which could seriously over-run that end of the garden.
The first tiny baby cucumbers are starting to appear, which makes me very happy. I love cucumbers, but I find them a little tricky to grow compared to other veggies.
I’m getting a few squash on my Really Big Squash plant, and the plant itself is getting really big! It’s right next to the volunteer Brandywines too, so they might be fighting for space soon.
Hooray, there are peppers coming! This photo is a little deceptive; the peppers are actually only 2-3 inches long, but quite a few are appearing. Maybe my pepper-blossom-but-no-peppers curse has ended.
It was too sunny here for a good photo, but if anyone has been worried about my basil, it’s doing better, although there’s still something nibbling on it from time to time. As I mentioned, I think I’ll give up on lettuce-leaf basil, because the other stronger-flavored varieties don’t seem to appeal to the pests. I need to give this basil a serious trimming and make pesto or freeze the basil, since the plant is making flowers.
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11 Comments on “Vegetables from the Garden: Update #5”
Your garden looks fabulous!! I am glad it is already producing some goods! I just love summer… I just wish I had a garden.
Your garden is doing well, Kalyn! I spotted the first few baby zucchini today, so I expect to eat some next week:) No signs of tomatoes or peppers just yet, but the summer is still long.
What a wonderful garden you have to produce all of this wonderful produce. Spectacular!
Paz
Your garden is great! I love the little ‘wild’ tomatoes growing by the compost!
I’m growing a small round squash akin to the Eight Ball this year, too… But they’re still just in the flowering stage.
Here’s what I made with the Eight Ball Zucchini I bought last year (Not a recipe, but pictures and general idea). Very yummy. I like the idea of carvin them out and stuffing them, though
Eight Ball Squash Balsamica
MW, the 8-ball zucchinis are wonderful for stuffing. Have to work on a post for that.
Lydia, can you believe I’ve never tried cooking squash blossoms. All that oil, and somehow they seem like more trouble than they’re worth, but lately I’ve been thinking about it.
Chris, love those round zucchini!
Simona, Zucchini frittata would be great. I am going to make some basil pesto as soon as I get time!
Kelly, thanks. I’ve been gardening for a *long* time.
Wow! You’re quite the successful gardener.
I would make frittata with those gorgeous 8-ball zucchini and pesto with the basil. When I make a batch of pesto, it comes out about one cup: I use half of it right away and I freeze the rest. My garden is still in its infancy: I look at yours as a promise of things to be. Nice tomatoes too: those are off-limits for me, so I can only dream.
Wow – everything looks wonderful! The Zucchini are so interesting! I have never seen them before…only long ones. Cool!
Gorgeous zucchini — and you have squash blossoms! Here in RI those are very popular. (I’m going outside to weed my garden right now — your garden is pristine compared to mine!)
Kalyn, your garden looks lovely, well nourished I should say hehe 🙂
Wow, I’ve not seen 8-ball zucchinis before, so exotic !! 🙂 Perhaps you can grill/bake those cute zucchini balls stuffed with ground chicken with chopped lettuce basils ? 🙂